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swiss/italian merengue buttercream - Page 3

post #31 of 56
3/16/11 at 7:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by scp1127

Hey LisaPeps, you are the one who got me through my first batch of IMBC!!! I do change the blade to the scraper blade to add the butter.

FromScratch, thanks for the tip about leaving it out.



Really glad I could help make it work for you icon_smile.gif IMBC is amazing, I can eat it straight from the bowl. I find ABC far too sweet and the texture can be really awful - grainy and greasy... I went to a local bakery to sample their cupcakes and I couldn't eat them because of the frosting.

I never refrigerate my IMBC. I just leave it out at room temp, I have eaten it when it is a week old and it is still good. Just make sure it is covered with Saran or in an air tight container. Any that I don't use I freeze on the day I make it.
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post #32 of 56
3/16/11 at 7:31am
Sweetaudry, I'm sorry to say that after reading the entire forum post here, I believe your problem is your mixer. The egg whites (cooked very gently over water with sugar just until you cannot feel any undissolved sugar with your finger tips) should then be beaten with the wisk attachment (I use a Kitchen Aid pro) for maximum volume. They should be beaten until they are stiff and the bowl is no longer warm. Then you change to the paddle attachment and add the butter. The butter should be just soft enough to indent with your finger and no softer. It should be cut into 1-inch pieces and added in 2 batches. The first half gets dumped in, then you should pulse with the paddle just enough to move the butter to the bottom. Then you add the rest of the cut-up butter in all at once. Start the mixer on slow until all the butter is covered with the meringue and there is no danger of it coming out of the bowl. Then, gradually increase the speed of the mixer, with the paddle attachment, increasing to medium high speed and beating until you have a heavenly batch of smooth perfection. At that point you can add flavorings of various types in small amounts. I have never had a single fail with this method and I make it all the time.
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post #33 of 56
3/16/11 at 7:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sweetaudrey

I just use the regular beaters that come with the cheap stand mixer (like a hand mixer type beater). I was hoping that a whisk attachment for a hand mixer would fit in, but it doesn't. icon_cry.gif So, I'm stuck with the beaters. I was afraid that maybe this was my problem, but I don't have much of another option unless I use a whisk by hand.



Is your stand mixer one of the ones where the beater sits in the middle of the bowl and whips but doesn't actually rotate around the bowl? Hard to describe.. Personally I think the mixer is the issue.

I have only just got my stand mixer and I used to make IMBC with a hand mixer and my mom helping me. My mom would whip the egg whites while I cooked the sugar syrup. When I added the sugar syrup my mom would continue whisking at the same time just extra carefully. We never had any problems, you just need to be careful that the sugar is in a slow stream and doesn't splash up. I would then stand there for 10 minutes whipping the egg whites and sugar (boring lol!!) and then my mom would add the butter. Just make sure your hand mixer is on the highest setting.
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post #34 of 56
3/16/11 at 1:24pm
Has anyone made chocolate IMBC? I understand you add 16oz. of melted choc. chips and assume to add the choc. after the butter.

Question - semi-sweet or unsweetened and can cocoa powder be used instead of choc. chips.
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post #35 of 56
3/16/11 at 2:25pm
I add Godiva chocolate liqueur, cocoa powder, and a large quantity of chocolate ganache, at a spreading consistency and made from semisweet chocolate and cream, to the SMBC after it's all whipped and ready to go. It's amazing.
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post #36 of 56
3/16/11 at 2:53pm
luddroth, why do you use the cocoa powder. I am not fond of uncooked cocoa powder, but your addition of the ganache and the Godiva are like my style of cooking. I'm sure it is good... just your input on the cocoa powder woud be helpful.
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post #37 of 56
3/16/11 at 3:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MustardSeed

Has anyone made chocolate IMBC? I understand you add 16oz. of melted choc. chips and assume to add the choc. after the butter.

Question - semi-sweet or unsweetened and can cocoa powder be used instead of choc. chips.



I recommend using 68% or more bitter-sweet chocolate, aprox. 8 oz to every 2 cups of buttercream. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler until smooth and let cool back down to room temperature, add to finished buttercream. If you use semi-sweet or milk chocolate your buttercream will be too soft and teeth-hurtingly sweet. You do have to be careful not to add too much chocolate otherwise your BC will seize and get a stiff mousse-like consistency. If you want a really bitter chocolate flavor use 6 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate. It will have a bite, but is really yummy on a really sweet cake like a white or strawberry cake.

If you just use cocoa powder it will not dissolve and give your BC a gritty grainy texture. I have heard of people having success melting cocoa powder with small amounts of the finished buttercream in a double boiler to make it a melted chocolate consistency, letting it get back to room temp then folding it in, but I don't know ratios or how good this tastes.

Jen
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post #38 of 56
3/16/11 at 4:35pm
Thanks Jen, I'll try Ghirardelli bittersweet.
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post #39 of 56
3/16/11 at 5:46pm
For all you meringue buttercream makers and lovers ... do any of you use the carton egg whites? Or strictly whites from fresh eggs? Just exploring my options ... thanks. icon_smile.gif
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post #40 of 56
3/16/11 at 6:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jamielc

For all you meringue buttercream makers and lovers ... do any of you use the carton egg whites? Or strictly whites from fresh eggs? Just exploring my options ... thanks. icon_smile.gif



I use cartoned egg whites. I usually only use the Kroger Break-Free brand. I have tried several and they are the most consistent.

My recipe is based on a carton of egg whites, which is 8 whites...plus 1/4 tsp cream of tartar for each white. I then use about 2 cups of sugar, between 7-8 sticks of unsalted butter, about 1 1/2 TBS vanilla, and always 12 ounces of white chocolate. Or semi sweet or milk, but most often white. That's my go-to buttercream.

I have also made IMBC with powdered egg whites, but I prefer the carton. I've even made it with Wilton Color flow.
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post #41 of 56
3/16/11 at 6:10pm
If you use french and italian buttercream, you can use the whole egg.
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post #42 of 56
3/16/11 at 6:18pm
HI, Scp1127, how would you do this using the whole egg. I have made it using the egg yolk(dede wilson) , but not the whole egg. Would love to try that also. Thanks
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post #43 of 56
3/16/11 at 6:28pm
I did not word that correctly. I use about half IMBC and half FBC flavors. Between the two, I can utilize the two parts of the egg with no waste.
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post #44 of 56
3/16/11 at 9:20pm
Ok, I understand. I do both also. No waste.Thanks
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post #45 of 56
3/16/11 at 9:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LisaPeps

Quote:
Originally Posted by sweetaudrey

I just use the regular beaters that come with the cheap stand mixer (like a hand mixer type beater). I was hoping that a whisk attachment for a hand mixer would fit in, but it doesn't. icon_cry.gif So, I'm stuck with the beaters. I was afraid that maybe this was my problem, but I don't have much of another option unless I use a whisk by hand.



Is your stand mixer one of the ones where the beater sits in the middle of the bowl and whips but doesn't actually rotate around the bowl? Hard to describe.. Personally I think the mixer is the issue.

I have only just got my stand mixer and I used to make IMBC with a hand mixer and my mom helping me. My mom would whip the egg whites while I cooked the sugar syrup. When I added the sugar syrup my mom would continue whisking at the same time just extra carefully. We never had any problems, you just need to be careful that the sugar is in a slow stream and doesn't splash up. I would then stand there for 10 minutes whipping the egg whites and sugar (boring lol!!) and then my mom would add the butter. Just make sure your hand mixer is on the highest setting.



My mixer is the kind that has the beaters off to the side and I have to turn the bowl. It incorporates it pretty good, but I'm not sure if it's just that the beaters are to rough on the egg whites or something like that. *Sigh*....I don't know.

And to luddroth, I do everything that you have described here, I just do not have a kitchenaid pro. Thank you.
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